Call for entries in the Minnesota statewide author contest

Minnesota public libraries are pleased to announce the call for entries in this year’s statewide contest for independently-published Young Adult and Adult Fiction. This is the contest’s third year.

Submissions will be accepted from April 1-May 31, 2020.

The winners will receive:

$1000 each in adult and young adult categories. Prizes sponsored by the Minnesota Library Foundation and BiblioLabs.

Honors at an Indie Author Project celebration reception in 2021

Opportunities to promote their book(s) at Minnesota public libraries

Inclusion in a full-page print spread in Library Journal, one of America’s oldest and most renowned trade publications for library news

If available, print copies will be purchased and made available for checkout through Minnesota’s public libraries.

Inclusion and promotion in Indie Minnesota

For indie-published authors, the contest is a great way to elevate their careers and business. Being recognized by libraries creates credibility and visibility in the growing marketplace of digital content and indie-published books. The 2019 contest winners attest to how career- and life-changing the award can be. Sarah Hanley, winner in the Adult Fiction category, describes how “the contest has connected me with readers from across the state and nation, and has opened up amazing opportunities.” Steve South, winner in the Young Adult Fiction category, shares that he “struggled for years to find a publisher for my book, which I wound up self-publishing…I now have a signed contract with a publisher.”

According to Publisher’s Weekly, the number of self-published books increased by 40% in 2018, totaling more than 1.4 million titles. The Minnesota Author Project (combined with the MN Writes MN Reads suite of resources for writers to use to self-publish their work) provides libraries with a chance to encourage new work from this growing group. This is a trend shared by libraries across the country. Ran Walker, winner in the adult fiction category of the 2018 Virginia Author Project who went on to win the inaugural Indie Author of the Year award in 2019, notes that since getting involved with the Indie Author Project, “ I have learned the power of libraries and how necessary they are to the growth and success of my writing career.”

Don’t miss this chance to reach thousands of new readers via Minnesota’s libraries!

Each book that is submitted to the contest must be:

Independently-published

In the category of adult fiction or young adult fiction

Written by a Minnesota resident

Available in either PDF or ePUB format

Multiple submissions are welcome.

The contest is open for submissions April 1, 2019 through May 31, 2019. Authors are invited to submit entries and to check out the free self-publishing resources at mnwritesmnreads.org

And everyone, writers and readers alike, is encouraged to check out the Indie Minnesota library. Download the Biblioboard Library app or read in your web browser.